Hope of Morning
by Refugeeoftumblr
Summary: He needed his brother. What he didn't know was whether Artemis would pick up the phone or not, and it was driving him crazy. Comfort!fic.


He wanted to cry. His throat felt dry, paralyzed, and his eyes were hot with unshed tears. Blindly, he made his way across the building, feet finding their way by sheer habit, until he found himself in a quiet back stairwell. Descending to the next landing as the heavy door swung shut behind him, Blü shrugged off his backpack and collapsed against the white cinderblock wall. He still wanted to cry, but at least it felt a little better to be alone.

The tears fell then; closing his eyes rebelliously, Blü rested his forehead against his knees. Everything felt unreal - even the concrete's coolness seeping through his jeans was distant, as though it was happening to someone else.

_Fuck._ Now that he'd had a moment to breathe, his mind went to his phone in his pocket. He'd have to confront everything that had just happened later. He knew that, of course he did, but he wanted to think about something else - _anything else_ \- for a while. Heart still pounding against his rib cage, Blü tugged out his phone, crossing one arm self-consciously over his chest as he unlocked the screen and pulled up his contacts. Two names had been favourited, so they appeared the top: _Artemis_ and _Holly_.

Which one should he call, though? Blü frowned, thumbing idly at the buttons on the side of his phone as he thought. Holly was busy more often than not. She'd be chasing down some rogue fairy or in a meeting or… well, any number of things, really. He didn't want to bother her right now. He didn't want to bother Artemis, either, given that Artemis lived in Ireland and was usually just as busy as Holly…

_Neither of them would mind,_ Blü told himself. _You're being stupid again._

He selected Artemis' name, then hit the 'call' button before he could convince himself otherwise.

"Blü? This is a surprise." The warm, smooth voice filtered through the speakers after a few rings. "You usually have a class at this hour, or at least that's what your schedule says."

A slight smile tugged at Blü's lips. _Trust Mr. Genius to have memorized my schedule already._ "Yeah," he agreed. "How are you?"

"I'm doing quite well, thank you." Artemis' tone had gone flat with disbelief. No doubt he understood that things weren't actually okay right now. "The meetings to push forward development went better than I anticipated, so we should be able to create a working prototype in the next month or so."

"That new cube thing, right? You know, I'm starting to think you have a thing for cubes."

A quiet snort on the other end. "I have no idea what you mean."

The vice that had been squeezing Blü's heart felt just a little looser. He took a deep breath, glancing out the low window to his left at the paths below.

"Something happened."

"I deduced that much. You don't enjoy phone calls."

Yeah. Artemis really didn't miss anything, did he? Oh well. So much for distraction.

"Blü."

"I know." He closed his eyes again. "It was a rough topic today in class. I thought I could deal with it but I was wrong. It isn't even a big deal, really, I just overreacted." _I had to get out of there. I wanted to die._

Artemis sighed heavily. "It sounds like it was rather a 'big deal' to you." Blü could picture his adopted brother's expression - Artemis would be frowning, arched brows drawn together in concern as he spoke.

It was a nice sentiment, but now Blü felt silly for bothering anyone. He was fine, really. Why had he even bothered?

"I guess I just wanted someone to talk to for a minute, you know? _That_ class is almost over anyway. I'll be going to math pretty soon." Blü shifted - _concrete is hard, ugh_ \- and inhaled more deeply, preparing to head to his next class. It would be easy; today was recitation day, nothing but review. He sat in the back anyway, right next to a window, so all he'd have to do was daydream until it was over. "It's fine. I just freaked myself out."

A sharp note entered Artemis' voice. "That does not sound 'fine'."

"I mean… it wasn't good, but I'll be alright. It isn't that big a deal in the grand scheme of things."

"Call me again later, after class. Holly, too. Don't just push it down."

"Hey," Blü tried to joke, "You ordering me around?"

Artemis was raising his eyebrow. Somehow, Blü felt it even through the phone. It must be some kind of spiritual thing, he thought, and grinned a little as Artemis tutted: "But of course. I'm the elder here, after all. What kind of older brother would I be if I didn't order you around?"

"A better one. Jerk."

"You toddler," Artemis chuckled. "Very well. Go to class. But I'd better hear from you later, or I'll send someone to track you down."

They both ended the call, and Blü let his arm fall onto his knee. Things… were far from okay, but they were better, and that was what mattered for now. He catalogued the way he felt; a little less cold, a little less alone.

His grin became a genuine smile.

_Thanks, brother._

**FIN**


End file.
